In the wake of the US 2016 Presidential Elections, many cities across the country renewed their commitment to protecting undocumented immigrants--these cities are called sanctuary cities. College campuses across the country have likewise made a call to make their schools sanctuaries for their undocumented peers.

Williams students organized a march from Paresky Student Union to Hopkins Hall to demand that Williams declare itself a sanctuary space. The march ended in the occupation of Hopkins Hall, a historically loaded space that was occupied by students in prior decades to demand Africana Studies and Asian Studies. This has been the first time this space has been occupied since these events.